Card Captor Shiho
by Haibara-san
Summary: Ai discovers that maybe, sneaking into Yusaku Kudou's library to borrow books hadn't been a good idea...
1. Chapter 1

The diminutive intruder crept through the halls of the incredibly vast Kudou mansion, taking care not to let any sign of her flashlight show through the windows.

Most believed that the mansion was merely dark and quiet, each member of the Kudou family – celebrities, of a sort – away from home. Reportedly, Yusaku Kudou was somewhere in the United States, working on his latest book. His wife, Yukiko, was either at his side, or busy with whatever film projects had filtered her way. As for Shinichi, their son, the 'high school detective' who'd been aiding the police in solving crimes and developing fame in his own right... well, the boy had to be off working on all kinds of tough cases, right?

Would everything have been easier for her had she never known the truth? Being an innocent – as much as she could fit that description while working for the Organization, anyway – rather than living a life trapped both within a child's body, _and_ an increasingly precarious web of lies meant to hide her and Shinichi from the Organization... if the mystery freak didn't set the entire mess falling apart around them.

Ai knew her paranoia was utterly justified. Someone _always_ kept watch on the house, though she could never be sure whether the watchers were the good guys, or not. She shuddered. Gin wouldn't be here in person unless he was sure, but... the man _had_ to have his suspicions.

The Organization was out there, patiently waiting. She could always detect that 'presence' at the edge of her senses, that taint of darkness she'd never be able to escape.

She snorted a laugh, resting a hand upon one of the ornately-carved wooden panels lining the hall. Even if she considered the many additional players and twists in the game, the goals always distilled to two major points – hope that she invented a cure for the blasted apotoxin, and that Kudou was somehow able to bring about the end of the Organization, before Gin or an associate managed to find them. A race, as always.

Their predicament would only worsen, no matter how optimistic she or Kudou pretended to be.

She decided to change the subject, if only for a moment. Those concerns were always on her mind, coloring her every action or reaction. Kudou knew the reasons why, Ai was sure; she had more or less grown up as a member of the Organization, was well aware of their secrets, the true intensity of their evil. The Black Organization had ties to practically _everything_...

The flashlight beam illuminated yet another picture of Shinichi as a child, as she passed, and Ai again wondered how in the world Ran could miss noticing that the _only_ difference between "Conan-kun" and younger Shinichi was a pair of glasses, particularly with all the pictures the Kudous kept, attached to practically every wall.

At least Shinichi had been able to live some semblance of a normal childhood – or as close to such a thing one could have had, with Yusaku and Yukiko Kudou as his parents. Hell, Ai was surprised that the eccentric couple hadn't given their son a name beginning with "Yu."

Her own family had more or less been resigned to moving from cheap house to cheap house. That – and their involvement with the Organization – had all but dashed her hopes of growing up in the same manner as many of the other girls she'd met.

Perhaps if she _had_ experienced that fabled innocent childhood, she would have a better idea how to behave around Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta. Then again, maybe she wouldn't have made the same choices... or followed the path that eventually led to her creating that stupid toxin.

Akemi. She'd managed, somehow...

Ai forced her thoughts onto a different track, attempting once more to imagine the kind of childhood _Ran_ must have endured. Kogorou barely seemed like a parent at all... unless Ran were threatened or injured. Then, he'd do _anything_ to see her safe and recovered.

Ugh. Change the subject, again. Honestly, her mind was mired in a mental rut. No matter how many times she attempted to avoid it, she would quickly return to the same topics. She definitely needed some sort of new inspiration and things to do, much less think about, but what might suffice?

The professor had nodded off while working on yet another odd invention; she'd abandoned all hope of trying to guess what the things were before he at least finished them. Agasa had quite the imagination, assuredly.

Kudou, meanwhile, was off in the countryside, somewhere, with Ran and Kogorou – no doubt thoroughly engrossed in some sort of mystery or murder investigation by now.

She had to smile at that thought. Little boy or not, cases found Kudou just as easily as they did 'the great Sleeping Kogorou.'

Of course, given how she was essentially required to remain near him, she often found herself as hopelessly involved as he.

That was one of the reasons Ai had chosen to sneak about the Kudou mansion. The observational and deductive reasoning skills she'd developed in her lifetime as 'Sherry' translated nicely for use on the cases she encountered with Kudou and the Detective Boys – Organization members were chosen from or groomed to be the best in their fields, including scientists or technicians.

Her abilities had certainly improved, as had the Detective Boys', though she wasn't about to consider herself anywhere near Kudou or Hattori's levels.

Chances were, she would never reach that level, lacking the intense dedication to it the two detectives shared, the urges that drove them to solve every mystery. Considering their predicament, however, if improving herself gave her – _them_ – even a minute hint of an edge against Gin and the Organization...

The best training came from actual experience. Yes, there were no shortages of cases, even for the Detective Boys, but she wanted to be able to approach a mystery without a time limit... or the danger.

Kudou himself hadn't had the luxury of always being able to participate in actual cases as a child, or so he claimed. He'd spent a lot of time reading mystery books – his father's works, the Sherlock Holmes stories, whatever else he could find within his father's vast library, or the public libraries – and watching the same kind of material on television.

For a moment, Ai wondered whether Yukiko had ever taken a starring role in a mystery, then dismissed the thought. Yukiko _was_ married to Yusaku, after all.

And really, what better place to find good detective literature than Yusaku's personal library?

She was far too used to witnessing the cases in person, of taking an active role, that she had some slight difficulty in summoning the patience to 'watch' the plot unfold in print... even scenes the detective wouldn't normally see, such as whatever the guilty parties were doing while the investigation proceeded.

Literary license, sure. It was easier – and less boring, from certain viewpoints – to show events transpiring apart from the investigators, rather than focus on the detective and force him or her to explain absolutely _everything_ at the end.

Well, it still felt odd.

It comforted her to know that not every culprit in a mystery began their criminal career as dark or evil. Even a complete innocent could be manipulated into incredible chains of sinister plots far beyond their control.

Others... were like her. She wasn't anywhere near whatever status Gin and people like _him_ occupied, though Ai allowed herself no illusions as to her own lack of innocence. Whatever her eventual fate happened to be... maybe, possibly... she deserved it.

She paused, closing her eyes, and allowed herself the luxury of another quiet snort before continuing onward, into the library.

There were factors complicating her plan, of course. Her child's body could safely carry only a few books, at best – and two or three books were easier to hide, anyway. As much as she trusted the professor and Kudou to stay away from her room and whatever small amount of possessions Ai had obtained in her 'new life,' either of them could still inadvertently find a stack of books.

Then, Kudou would deduce what she'd been attempting to do, and probably never let her hear the end of it.

Computer files, she could lock behind multiple passwords and other interweaved... complications, with enough clues in place for Kudou to gain access to the data if the need arose.

Ai sighed. _Enough of that._

Another issue was that she simply didn't know _what_ to read; she didn't want to spend time copying the names of several books, then check each title online for possible reviews – or worse, ask Kudou – leaving her with the alternative of pulling books at random. Most of the choices had been tolerable, with the exception of one or two that she'd found painful to read. The old, American pulp-fiction-type detectives were something of an acquired taste, she'd decided. Though, imagining Kudou or Heiji as that sort of detective had provided a moment's bemusement...

Stopping to carefully replace the pair of novels she'd borrowed, this round, Ai began the task of picking another pair at random – her choice further limited by the fact that she couldn't reach the higher shelves without the large, rolling stairs, which she dared not move.

Not that that was necessary, for the time being. Yusaku's library was indeed quite huge, even for an adult, and it would take her _years_ to read everything lined on the bottom few shelves.

She had no intention of remaining a child that long, let alone being Haibara Ai.

As she picked one of the long sections of shelves and scanned the titles, her eyes started to glaze – but that was normal, and she always resorted to choosing whatever she hoped wouldn't be a dry and intimidating read, based upon the title or the thickness of the book.

What she hadn't expected, however, was finding herself in an different section of the library when the 'haze' cleared. _Huh?_

Yusaku's impressive library featured what Shinichi termed the 'international section,' where the older Kudou kept the majority of his imported, untranslated books. Ai couldn't discern from sight alone whether or not Yusaku had managed to collect 'research material' from every country, every language – not even Shinichi knew the answer to _that_ question – though, based upon what scant few languages she recognized, it was easy to assume he had.

Ai froze, a curious sense of... _something_ flashing through her. Resonance? The impression hadn't exhibited any of the taint she felt when another member of the Organization was close, but... for a moment, she'd truly _believed_ she was at peace, at one with the wind and the solitary, clear chime that had originated from... wait.

Why in the world was she hearing chimes and wind?

An ethereal, childish giggle wafted through the air, invoking further impressions of the wind.

_Above you,_ a voice breezed, almost lazily. _To the left._

One of the books pulsed with a faint blue glow.

_Okay..._ The rational, analytical part of her mind that had served her well enough throughout her life, had decided to back away, clearly not feeling up to the task of explaining what she was experiencing... or _thought_ she was.

Hallucinations just didn't feature this level of clarity... she hoped. But then, why would she be hallucinating? She was in fairly decent health, and not under the influence of anything save her own damned toxin.

Certainly the apotoxin causing her to see and hear things that weren't there was _possible_ – except she would manifest a few other obvious symptoms before treading close to delirium.

Ai supposed Yukiko could, in theory, have set up a practical joke, complete with special effects. But, what would be the point? Everyone knew better than to try pulling that sort of stunt with her!

The giggle chimed again, once more finding resonance somewhere within her. How could special effects simulate that, she wondered?

_Oh, hell,_ she thought, warily extending a hand toward the book.

No reaction.

Well, time for the second test. She touched her index finger to the book's spine, quickly pulling her hand back.

Nothing. The thing was glowing, yet it still felt the same as any of the other books in the library.

Okay, fine. She eased the book from the shelf carefully, slowly, as though it were an active time-bomb.

No change, again.

Ai sighed. Whatever joke, pain or humiliation was about to be inflicted upon her, evidently wanted her to open the book, first.

She studied it, rotating it in her hands. An ornate tome, featuring unusually elaborate gold-leaf embossing over a time-worn royal-red suede cover. What appeared to be representations of a lion's head, directly underneath the sun and moon, decorated the front. "The Book of... ku... Clow?" she spoke the title aloud, attempting to parse the words.

Her eyes narrowed. The cover's illustrations were reminding her very much of those supposed mystical and arcane magical symbols she'd seen on occasion.

Besides, the book hadn't stopped glowing.

_Magic._ As far as she was concerned, the word was either a catch-all term used to 'explain' extraordinary circumstances or displays of would-be power... or misdirection and other stage-magician tricks, including Kaitou Kid's numerous attempts to fool everyone.

Thank goodness Ayumi held no interest in those goofy 'magical girl' shows...

The ethereal voice offered her a new giggle, as though it were commenting on that particular thought.

"You really do want me to open this thing, don't you?" Ai spoke flatly, directing her question to the air... which, predictably, didn't reply. She cast a futile glance around the dark, large room, on the off-chance she might spot someone watching – or worse, _filming_ her.

...Nobody. Of course.

_Fine!_ she mentally groused. Firming her resolve, Ai grasped the cover of the book and, in the same motion, flipped it open, reflexively flinching in anticipation of whatever might spring toward her from either the book, or the shadows.

She slowly opened her eyes. _At least it's stopped glowing._

It had, at that. But there had been no surprise appearances from anyone congratulating her for falling so readily into their trap, or any explosions.

Just... cards?

Save for a handful of true pages near the front, the book was hollow, a rectangular inset hiding what appeared at first glance to be a deck of tarot cards.

Not yet disgusted enough to push the book back into its place upon the shelf, Ai slid the top card off the deck and aimed her flashlight at the face of the card.

The illustration depicted a woman of avian features, feathered wings cloaked about herself. Below her, at the card's edge, lay two English words in bold print. "'The Windy'...?" she repeated, an urge to speak the name causing her to act well before Ai realized what she was doing.

The card reacted. It suddenly flared to life with the same blue light she had seen, although this time the glow burned far more brightly. She shut her eyes, almost dropping the card in the process.

Wind began to swirl around her. Within seconds, she found herself inside the eye of a compact whirlwind, inexplicable gale-force winds that somehow, didn't seem to be bothering much of the section of the library in which she stood, except...

_The cards!_ she realized with a start. Indeed, the whirlwind was tearing all the cards, one by one, free from their inset – and flinging them in every possible direction; Ai boggled when she saw the newly-created projectiles _passing through_ the walls, ceiling and floor, rather than being stopped.

What Yusaku would think about the cards, books or whatever being strewn everywhere by a miniature hurricane, she didn't know, and mentally kicked herself for letting her mind stray to such a foolish thought.

The wind suddenly intensified again, enough to begin pulling books from the shelves. Ai could barely see through the dust swirling about her, any longer – not that the storm gave her any chance to move or escape.

She spun at the sound of something large passing through the air behind her. That proved to be a mistake, as she immediately felt something strike her at the base of her skull.

* * *

"Heeeey! Oi! Wake up!"

Huh? Ai pushed herself up, dazedly wondering why she would be lying, face-down, over a box-like...

Her hand found the object. Memory returned. Oh. Right. The so-called 'Book of Clow.'

She rubbed the back of her neck. Okay, she must have been knocked out, and collapsed over the book.

Ai's gaze strayed to her flashlight, resting on the floor a foot or two away. _I can't have been out __**that**__ long, if it's still shining relatively bright. But... what happened?_

...a whirlwind, engulfing her and darting the supposedly magical cards to who knew where...

"Oi! Y'mind takin' your hand off the Book?" a muffled voice groused.

Now, the thing was _talking to her_? She jerked her hand back, as though the book had instantly become unbearably hot.

As she watched in stunned silence, the back of a plush orange teddy bear's head emerged from the cover of the book.

No, she corrected, grabbing her flashlight and turning a spotlight upon the 'creature.' More of the toy's body cleared the cover – a stuffed lion with rounded ears and a long tail that ended in a large white tuft, the sort of toy Ayumi would likely love. Oh, and it had those ridiculous thin felt wings, too.

Okay. Quickly – she needed to think. She did _not_ believe in magic. In this day and age, there was always a trick. Anyone could debunk the illusions and misdirections if they were looking in the right places and paid attention to the clues. Kudou did it all the time!

She wasn't hallucinating. Everything that had happened was... was too complex, too elaborate to be a practical joke. Who would go to those lengths just to play a prank on her?

The Organization wouldn't bother, normally, even for the sake of scaring her or sending her a message. They preferred to be in control, as much as possible... and that often translated into simple plans, executed with nothing less than emotionless, mechanical precision. This 'magic' nonsense had left too many details to chance.

She hadn't felt _that_ particular sense this evening, either.

"Konyanyachiwa!" Ai started; at some point during her musing, the little stuffed lion-thing had turned around – the light illuminating it almost from below, causing it to very nearly appear sinister and ominous – and the creature was patiently watching her with tiny, beady black eyes, smiling innocently.

_I'm imagining a stuffed animal __**talking to me**__. In an Osakan dialect, no less._

"Man, I feel great! Nothin' like a really long nap t'help you recover your strength!"

Ai cocked an eyebrow. "And let your muscles atrophy?" she asked, despite herself. Assuming the little thing _had_ muscles...

Her only response was an odd stare. She watched as the toy's attention turned to the book... which was once more enveloped within a soft, blue glow, and rose into the air.

Ai reflexively winced when the book opened and its pages ever so slowly turned. How would the toy react if the inset was empty when that final page turned?

"...where are the Cards?"

Somehow, there was a fierce intensity present in the beady eyes that she hadn't expected. "Uh, th-there was this giggling," she lamely blurted. Here she was, ex-member of the Black Organization, seeing and chancing death almost on a daily basis... and cowed by a tiny _toy_. "Then, the book was glowing, and when I opened it and saw the cards, and read the words on that 'Windy' card – a whirlwind formed and sent them flying."

The toy chuckled, setting her slightly at ease. "Oh, is that all? Well—" It paused, and suddenly, the intensity was back. "_No_! Do you realize the severity of what you've done? Those cards represent a tremendously powerful magic, second only to that of the great Clow Reed, himself! You've effectively loosed them upon the world!" In a smaller voice, it added, "An' I was supposed t'be watching them, too..."

She rocked backward onto her rear. That the toy's dialect had momentarily slipped during its rant, she filed away for later thought. It just didn't seem as important at present.

As if she had any clue _what_ to consider.

'True' magic was the fantasy of an infinite amount of storytellers. Right? Truth and knowledge were perhaps the ultimate power – and, as Kudou had proven on so many occasions, everything could be explained.

She'd seen a television program, a few months ago, that attempted to prove children and some older people could be manipulated into believing even simple technology was an example of magic.

What technology might produce the strange turn of events she had experienced this evening?

The dull gleam of an object lying upon the floor caught her attention. Ai narrowed her eyes, straining to see it in the dim light.

It was one of the cards. She snatched the accursed card and raised it closer to her face. No, not just _any_ card... the apparent cause of all the nonsense!

The Windy card.

"Here," she offered it to the toy. The stuffed animal could take it, for all she cared.

"One Card? That's great," it said, nonplussed. "But unless you've got all the rest of th' Cards in your pocket, we've still got a problem."

She shook her head. "_We_? No. You. _You_ go find your cards, or whatever. I'm leaving." To emphasize her point, Ai climbed to her feet. "Oh, and make sure everything's clean and you lock the doors before you go."

The little orange monster was almost instantly face-to-face with her. "Hold it! You've got a responsibility! You're the one who released the Cards, so _you're_ the one who must retrieve them!"

Ai nearly quailed at that, but tried to keep her edge, allowing a flash of annoyance to pass through her azure eyes before closing them. "Forget it."

"_O Key of Clow, Key to the Seal, come forth!_

_This one... will be entered into the ancient Contract..."_

_That_, she definitely hadn't expected to hear. _Contract! What the_—

Her eyes shot open, a move that Ai immediately chose to regret, as the golden light radiating from the large, arcane magic circle beneath them momentarily blinded her.

Was it her imagination, or did she actually feel _something_ trying to root her in place?

Ai grit her teeth in frustration, She wasn't quite the type to bolt, no matter the circumstance, even stupid little toys blaming her for scattering a bunch of cards and threatening to tie her to who knew what sort of magical 'contract!'

She could finally almost see something small spinning wildly in the air between her and the stuffed jerk, her sight beginning to adjust to the light. That 'key' it had just mentioned, Ai guessed.

"_O Key of Clow,"_ repeated the toy. _"Key to the Seal. This child, this girl..."_

Again, its gaze met hers. "What's your name?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"...That won't work," the toy admonished, though Ai took some comfort in the way it had hesitated. "I need your name. The Contract has begun, so the only way we're gonna leave is t'finish it."

"Then, I really _am_ going to kill you."

"Your _name_."

Several seconds passed before Ai ultimately relented. "All right," she growled. "Ai. Haibara Ai." _Not that you've told me YOUR name._

"...Right. _This girl, Ai, seeks a Contract with you, to become the Card Captor. Key of Clow, please... grant her your Power!"_

The Key stopped spinning, its ornate head aimed directly toward her heart. Somehow, she could sense... was that disappointment?

The toy sighed. "Your _true_ name. The Master believed very much in honesty; he claimed that magic would never be true t'you, if you weren't true t'yourself."

Wonderful. Well, it did make sense. Maybe. "Shiho," she muttered at last. "It's Shiho." _Idiot!_ her mind screamed as she spoke. Who knew whether or not anyone had hidden cameras or bugs anywhere in Kudou's mansion?

Fortunately, the library featured no windows... nobody watching the mansion from afar would notice the lightshow. If she had any luck, the 'magic' prevented other people from eavesdropping or noticing what she was doing...

"_...This girl, Shiho, seeks a Contract with you, to become the Card Captor. Key of Clow, please... grant her your Power!"_

The Key was once again in motion. This time, Ai sensed that it had approved.

"RELEASE!"

* * *

With apologies to Aoyama Gosho, CLAMP, and... well, everyone else. :)

The idea for this story originated while I read the improfanfic _Blossoms In the Spring_, a crossover between CCS and Street Fighter Alpha/Zero, based upon an idea by The Eternal Lost Lurker (who I believe is now known as Mythril Moth). I'd recalled that Lurker had written one or more Detective Conan stories, and _of course_ that thought somehow evolved into wondering what would happen if one of the Conan characters became the Captor...

This story can basically be considered a one-shot and complete, though I'm not going to mark it as Complete, yet... as I'm still debating adding one or two scenes to the end. I'm probably not going to do much else with it, however, so if anyone would like to continue it, or create their own version, feel free to do so. But do send me a link to your story, so I can read it. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Unfortunately, I still don't have any plans to turn this into a full story series, so it'll remain an idea for anyone else to take, if they want. One of the main difficulties with me writing this series is that I'd want to remain as true to _both_ series as I possibly could – which means hopefully new mysteries to intertwine with whatever other situations the Cards might inspire.

I'm adding a few extra 'possible' scenes, here. They're not guaranteed to be what happens, but just think of it as adding to the idea. I have two or three additional scenes in mind, though I'm not spoiling those… just in case I _do_ decide to eventually write my own version…

* * *

"What's that?"

Kudou Shinichi – now, and with any luck temporarily, a young boy who'd named himself 'Edogawa Conan' – blinked, staring at the small, prone form of Keroberos laying haphazardly atop Ai's bed. "A stuffed animal?"

Ai frowned. "…Shut up, Kudou." She pulled the boy away from her bedroom door, shutting it. "I take it you've forgotten that I don't want you anywhere near my room?"

"Yeah, yeah," Conan replied, closing his eyes dismissively. "I just have difficulty picturing you as the type who'd want a stuffed animal, much less one that looks like that." Ai was certainly within her rights and circumstance to enjoy her second childhood, but this _was_ the person who kept her behavior clinical, and her room spartan. Would that sort of person suddenly add a brightly-colored – cute, he supposed – toy to the mix?

_Whatever._ Maybe Haibara was deliberately trying to confuse him. The former Organization member-turned-little-girl kept everyone at a considerable distance, revealing only what she believed anyone truly needed to know… even when all of that knowledge could improve their chances of survival, bring down the Organization that much faster.

He couldn't force her to tell them anything, of course. She had convinced herself she was keeping the whole lot of them innocent and safe, him included.

Well, Haibara was also fully aware of his drive, his desire to solve any and all cases he encountered. Better she didn't spoil that, then, and let him gather everything necessary to make sure the entire Organization were brought to justice, right?

She seemed to prefer spending her free time locked in her bedroom, attempting to formulate a cure for the apotoxin she'd created – the primary reason the pair of them were children, now.

Still, there was nothing honestly preventing her from having a little fun, now and then, so if a stuffed animal reminded her to lighten up every once in a while, he'd let it pass.

The small orange… lion? probably resembled some toy she'd had, years ago.

_Might as well see how the professor's doing with his latest creation,_ he mused, crossing the threshold into the house's spacious living room. Agasa had no shortage of… interesting ideas to apply to possible inventions, certainly. His career as a child detective would have been who knew how many times more difficult without the aid of the set of special gadgets the professor had created for him, such as the voice-changer hidden within his bow-tie.

Whenever the professor attempted to invent something for the general public to use, however… his creations often failed in unexpected ways.

As he reached the point where he knew Ai's bedroom door could no longer be seen from the living room, Conan paused to take one final glance over his shoulder in that direction…

She hadn't moved.

_Sheesh._ Haibara continued to stare at him, her face never shifting from that forced emotionless mask. _Don't tell me she's THAT worried I'm gonna try to go in her room?_

Could she have hidden something important inside that toy? he considered, then dismissed it. The lion was the only thing in the room that seemed out-of-place; who _wouldn't_ check it first?

Ai lingered in the hall a moment longer, wondering if she honestly believed there was a chance the boy might return.

There was no way in hell she'd be able to hide her new… problem… from Kudou, for long. Bizarre magic, or no.

Why all of Beika didn't know about the Cards after the previous night, she was hardly sure. If nobody happened to notice a forty-foot, brightly-glowing woman with avian features flying just above the rooftops for what, about half an hour? – there was absolutely no hope for any of them. None.

She couldn't believe she'd let the little stuffed jerk talk her into chasing a giant flying harpy, on foot. _Or_ that she had actually debated using the magic of the Windy Card to catapult herself into the sky… and proceeded to do just that, soaring high enough to grab a handful of feathers on the creature's side and struggle to pull her way onto its back.

Wonderful. Now, she was a 'magical girl.' With an annoying tiny sidekick that reminded her very much of nothing more than a higher-pitched Hattori Heiji.

The power of the Fly Card manifested white, feathery wings atop her key-staff – pink, damn it… why in the world would a powerful wizard and man like Clow Reed have created a _pink_ key or staff? Maybe the color helped true magic-users focus energy better, or something – allowing her to use the Key somewhat like a witch's broom, to Fly wherever she wished.

It also turned her into an easy and interesting target for snipers, or anyone with a telephoto camera lens. Then again, if people had trouble noticing a forty-foot airborne glowing woman, who would spot a fairly smaller, younger girl innocently gliding through their range of vision?

_Hrm._

Ai nudged her door open with one foot, enough for her to slip into the room… and nearly slammed the door shut in a rush of panic on finding Kero bobbing inches from her face, drawing breath to speak.

"What'd that brat _mean_ by, 'one that looks like that?' Like _what_?"

She glared. "Shut up, idiot!" Snatching the diminutive bear-lion-thing from the air and pulling him close enough to discern the malice in her eyes in fine detail, Ai lowered her voice to a whisper. "Since you _clearly_ want them to hear you, why don't I just save you the trouble and give you to them, right now?"

Kero's eyes widened. "You… probably would," he admitted, reluctantly, in a diminishing voice. "Okay… I'm sorry."

"Better." Not really, but she wasn't in the mood to press her point.

"It's just that it's so… _boring_ in here, y'know? I can't even watch TV or play anything on the computer."

"I keep my computer password-protected for a reason," Ai informed him, dryly.

"…and you don't even have a game system…"

"I don't _want_ a game system."

Kero blinked, studying her. "You're a weird kid, you know that?" he said at last.

"Yeah, whatever." The little monster hadn't been the only individual to tell her that, after all. Did it truly matter? Despite her appearance, she didn't consider herself to be a child, nor did she choose to act her apparent age. Let Kudou play the bright-eyed little boy – she had better things to do. "So, why aren't you out there, looking for the Cards?"

"Even if I did, what could I do? You're the only one who can seal the Cards. Most of 'em are in hiding. I won't be able t'sense them until they become active."

"Like the Fly Card." Just what they needed… more forty-foot magical women wreaking havoc in Beika.

"Right. But they won't be manifesting the same way; their powers're all different, remember? Since you're the Card Captor, you've got a direct link to the Cards. I'm sure you'll be able t'sense the Cards better than me, so the best place for me t'be is with you."

She smirked. "…And if you can stay in my room and play video games, all the better?"

"Of course!" The winged bear's face was alight with an uncomfortably wide grin… which promptly withered as Kero realized he'd been trapped. "Er… no! I mean…"

"I'm still not going to get you any video games."

"Shut up." Kero folded his arms, sulking and muttering a comment about 'weird little girls' under his breath.

* * *

"Okay, class," Kobayashi-sensei announced, surveying her students with a quick glance to determine whether or not she had their attention. She began to write a name on the chalkboard, hoping she had the Kanji correct. "Today, I would like you to welcome a new transfer student to our class."

A nod toward the door signaled the boy waiting there to enter the room. "This is Li Shaoran."

Peripherally, Conan noticed the way Ai's body ever-so-briefly went completely rigid, her eyes widening, at the sight of the boy – before her mask of composure slipped back into place. _She knows that kid?_ he wondered, not missing their sensei's mention that the boy was 'a transfer student from China.'

Did this 'Shaoran Li' have some sort of relation or even connection to the Organization?

Conan studied the newcomer. Shaoran was a bit taller than him – and how many kids _weren't_, he inwardly groused – possessing rather ordinary features. Brown, slightly curled short hair, with darker brown eyes.

The boy had quickly zeroed in upon Ai, among all of the children in the class, and was clearly glaring at her intently.

Uh-oh. Aside from Vermouth, the FBI, Hattori, the professor and his parents, Conan's mind raced, who else was aware of Haibara's secret?

"Now, for your seat… ah. For today, why don't you use that desk behind Ai-kun?" Kobayashi-sensei pointed toward the seat in question. "Miyo-kun, who normally sits there, is absent today. I'll change the seating chart tonight."

The glaring continued as Shaoran made his way through the aisle, and eased warily into the desk behind Ai.

Would anyone even remotely connected to the Organization be _this_ blatantly obvious? the question nagged at the back of Conan's mind. It was unlikely Shaoran was a true member of the Organization; both he and Haibara would have behaved notably different upon seeing each other.

Perhaps Shaoran could be someone Haibara had known, and had fallen victim to the apotoxin one way or another after Haibara's escape. That definitely gave Shaoran a reason to be angry with her.

He'd have to ask the professor and Hattori to check the boy's records, if at all possible.

Shaoran was still glaring.

Ever so slowly, Haibara turned in her chair to face him, countering with her 'normal' indifferent stare.

Suddenly, Shaoran blinked, his assault faltering, and averted his gaze.

_I don't believe it,_ Conan watched as Ai resumed her seat, a satisfied smirk set firmly upon her lips. _She just won __**another**__ staring contest._

* * *

The stockier of the two men fidgeted, his unease slowly but surely increasing. "A-aniki…," Vodka stammered, but caught himself.

Members of the Organization were taught that anything could happen or change during even the best of plans. He had watched that happen, personally, a small number of times… most of those instances occurring after he'd been assigned to be Gin's partner.

Yes, Gin thoroughly hated it whenever something deviated at all from the plan… but that was the man's true element, where his cunning mind was allowed free reign. The slightly manic, sinister edge that formed in Gin's eyes was proof of that. No matter the cost, whatever – or whomever – else he may have to eliminate, Gin would see his assignments through.

Vodka wasn't the least bit sure if any of Gin's experience and talents prepared him for situations where they'd exited a building, only to find that the area had somehow become overgrown with thick tree branches, elevating Gin's Porsche about five meters from the ground.

The platinum-haired man chewed idly at the end of his cigarette, irritated, narrowing his eyes as he examined the branches nearest the sidewalk. No tree in existence grew to such a volume, strong and thick enough to lift a car, in less than an hour.

There had been rumors filtering through to the Organization, now and then, about 'strange occurrences…' some apparently even claimed it was _magic_. Gin, like the others, had completely disregarded everything; none of those supposed instances had any sort of bearing upon the Organization's business.

'Magic,' as far as Gin was concerned, was merely a word used by those who couldn't be bothered to investigate until they learned the complete truth. If there _was_ a way to make trees grow significantly in a short period of time, he'd uncover it – and if anyone had thought to use that trick to sabotage his Porsche…

* * *

A somewhat-familiar small white hang-glider soared, banking almost lazily around the occasional high-rise. A cheer echoed from the ground below now and then, those fans of the infamous Kaitou Kid recognizing what the sight meant – the Kid had managed to escape, once again.

He grinned for a moment, then sighed. As much as he loved playing the showman, devising elaborate tricks to confound and amaze everyone, distract them from his search… his exploits had admittedly become a bit routine.

Old man Jirokichi had challenged him to steal the _Tears of Midnight…_ so, naturally, he had to oblige. The legend of Kaitou Kid had to be maintained, after all, and it was always fun to spite both the old man and Inspector Nakamori.

He'd always wondered how Aoko would react, if she knew how he'd been treating her father.

The jewel and its setting were unimportant, clearly not related at all to the jewel he sought.

That Suzuki Jirokichi was involved practically _guaranteed_ Kudou and the Detective Boys would be there. Kudou enjoyed the challenge as much as he did, he was sure.

So. The little boy detective unravels the trick and retrieves the obscenely expensive jewel from Kaitou Kid, who unavoidably escapes. It wasn't as if the adults were expecting the children to be able to catch a thief like Kid all by themselves, right?

He considered the number of times Kudou had come close to catching him, his lips almost descending into a frown. Even the Detective Boys had nearly managed it, once or twice. That turned his mood around, and he snorted a laugh. How ironically easy it was to underestimate or dismiss a child…

A true magician never abandoned the quest to devise the ultimate trick or illusion. Time for the intermission between acts, then.

What would he want to change about the routine, anyway, except for finally creating the trick that even Kudou Shinichi couldn't solve? Every caper was completely different – locations, method, items. The only common factors linking all of those runs were the participants, and the general outline of events.

He had barely begun to wonder whether or not adding a new face to the regular cast of characters would shake everything up enough to be interesting, when he noticed a slight movement to his right… wait, was he being flanked?

The small, stuffed orange bear gliding at his side on impossibly thin cloth wings offered him a broad smile and casual wave. Kid boggled. _What the heck_–

"Kaitou Kid, the 'Magician in the Moonlight,'" the bear said, fixing him with a stare he found himself unable to ignore. "Or should I say… Yue?"


End file.
